Electrified crane conveyor



Feb. 24, 1948. R. T. ZMOORE 2,436,590

ELECTRIFIED CRANE CONVEYOR Filed Dec. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EAL PH T- M00285 A TTOENEYS Patented Feb. 24, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIFIED CRANE CONVEYOR Application December 22, 1944, Serial No. 563,312

4 Claims. (Cl. VIM- 23) The present invention relates generally to overhead conveyors and particularly to crane conveyors having shielded electrification.

There are many places where shielded, electrified overhead conveyor systems could be used except for the fact that adequate space cannot be had along both sides of the rail for the neces sary collectors, conductor bars and their shieldings. In other words, shielded, electrified overhead monorail systems cannot be used in certain places because all the conductor bars must be located on one side of the rail and no satisfactory arrangement of bus bars, shields and collectors has as yet been devised, so far as I know, which would permit such location of all these parts. Installations of the type just mentioned include those having straight tracks and particularly crane runways.

The present invention makes it possible to locate all the several collector bars and collectors on one side of an overhead monorail system and to shield the bus bars against accidental contact therewith by a workman or by conducting articles in the hands of a workman.

The present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art from the following description of the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification and in which Figure l is a fragmentary, top plan View of a monorail crane system embodying one form of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, side elevational view, partly in section, taken on line E2 of Fig. 2;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line '33 of Fig. 1 showing certain parts in elevation;

Figs. l and 5 are, respectively, top plan and longitudinal views of the current collector shoes of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, side el vational view of the connection between adjacent ends of shield members;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified form of the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows approximately one-half of a crane bridge equipped with .an end truck, wheel Yokes and wheels to run on one crane runway. It will be understood that the remainder of the installation is substantially a duplicate or" the portion thereof shown in Fig. 1.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 runway 3 comprises a channel-shaped section 2 supported in any suitable manner from above and a rail of I-beam section attached to and depending from channel 2. This rail has upper flanges 3, a web 5 and lower flanges '5. Wheels '5 are mounted in opposed pairs to run on the upper surface of flanges Each pair of wheels 5 are rotatably mounted on shafts .6 extending into arms 7 of a wheel yoke 8 which is generally .U-shaped and extends transversely beneath flanges '5 of the rail. Two of these yokes are connected to a bar 9, as by pivot bolts it, so that two yokes .8 and their wheels v5 may move as a unit on the rail of one runway.

An end truck it connects two of these load bars Each end truck comprises arectangular frame including sides iii and ends ii, the ends resting on bars 9, as is better shown in Fig. 2. The sides it of end truck id have outstanding flanges .2?! along their upper edges, these flanges preferably sloping downwardly toward their ends.

Two of the end trucks it are attached to the crane bridge which comprises a channel beam and a rail 23 which preferably is of L-bearn crosssection. Current conducting bus bars i'l are mounted in insulators along the wee of rail 26 and serve to supply current to a motor (not shown) which may be connected to a trolley having wheels 29 to run on the lower flanges of rail 2%.

From what has just been said and from what is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it will be understood that the crane comprising bridge 25 and ated parts and end trucks E5 and associated wheels, yokes and other parts, may move sidewise along runways l and that loads carried by trolleys on the rail 25 may move therealong to their ends at right angles to the runways.

The crane may be moved sidewise along the runways in any convenient manner but, as shown, a preferred means of accomplishing such propulsion comprises a shaft fill carried in bearings in suitable brackets 3i and 3'2 on bridge 2 and in suitable bearings in the inner sides of the end trucks. At each end, shaft Ed is keyed to a wheel equipped with'a deformable tire which is pressed against the under side of flanges 5 of the runways with sufficient pressure to cause movement of the crane sidewise along the runways when the wheel is rotated. A motor 35 mounted on the top of the crane bridge is connected, as by belt 31, to a pllley 38 on shaft 33 so that when the motor as is energized the shaft and wheels may be rotated.

Current for actuating motor 35 is conducted thru a plurality of bus bars 43. These bars 6X tending horizontally along the runway are carried by insulators t! depending from brackets which are secured to web :3 of the runway rail adjacent to motor 35. The bars 4B are disposed nearthe free ends of brackets 42 and in a position above the flange 25 of the inner sides [6 of the end truck l5. That side 86 carries a bracket 43 which is connected to a collector shoe holder 44. This holder extends horizontally toward the mo-, tor 36, beneath the bars 45 and is spaced vertically above flange 25. The shoe holder 44 is composed of electrically nonconductive material and has recesses in its upper side for collector shoes 45. As will be better understood by reference to Figs. and 6, the shoes 45 are pressed against the lower surfaces of bus bars 40 by springs 41 and are hingedly connected to the holder at one end, as at 48. At their hinged ends shoes 46 are attached to conductors 49 which are led down thru a notch 55 in holder 45 and thence to motor 35.

A shield 55, preferably consisting of a plurality of end-to-end sheet-like members connected together as by splice 56 of Fig. 6, houses the bus bars 40, shoe holder 44 and shoes 45. This shield 55 has a top portion 51 which is substantially perpendicular to web 4 of the adjacent runway and which rests on top of brackets 42, an outer depending side portion 58 which extends down to below shoe carrier 44 and a bottom portion 59 which extends into the space between flange 20 of the end truck and shoe carrier 44 to a point adjacent to bracket 43. If desired, the top portion 51 of the shield may extend farther toward or actually into contact with web 4 of the runway rail. Thus it will be understood that shield 55 houses the bus bars, their supporting insulators, the shoe holder and the shoes on the top, bottom and outer side andis open toward the web of the runway rail. The shield 55 may be detached from and assembled with brackets 42 by removal of the screws 60 (Fig. 6) which secure the splice 55 to the shields 55 and to brackets 42. Such removal or replacement of shield 55 does not disturb the bus bars 45 since they are mounted in insulators 4! which are independently attached to brackets 42.

It will be understood from the drawings and the foregoing description that the bus bars 49 are thoroughly and completely shielded against contact of a workman therewith and also against the formation or accumulation thereon of foreign materials which might interfere with the free flow of current from the bus bars to the shoes 45. It will also be understood that none of the parts of the shield may fowl any parts of the crane, that the collector shoes 46 are located closely adjacent to the motor 55, and that the leads connecting the shoes to the motor are short and cannot interfere with the runway or parts thereof during movement of the crane.

In Fig. 7 a slightly modified form of the present invention is shown wherein the parts of a light duty installation are shown as contrasted with the parts of the heavy duty installation of Figs. 1 to 3.

In Fig. 7 the runway rail comprises angles 55 which are supported from above by means not shown, a plate 53 attached to angles 55 and a rail 67 attached to the lower end of plate 55. The sides 68 of the end truck are channel shaped in cross-section and are connected to channel shaped ends 69. These parts 68 and B9 correspond to parts It and I! of Fig. 1. Yokes it, provided with wheels H to run on rail 61, are connected by load bars '52 which in turn support the truck ends 69. The plate 66 caries outwardly extending brackets l3 which, at their outer ends, support insulator blocks 14 in which bus bars 15 are mounted. The inner side 68 of one end truck is provided with bracket 16 which supports a shoe carrier 11 composed of insulating material. Collector shoes 18 are pivoted to carrier 11 and urged by springs 19 against the opposed surfaces of bus bars 75. A shield 85 encloses on the top, outer and'bottom sides of the space in which the bus bars 15, carrier 11 and shoes 18 are located and is open on the side toward plate 66. The upper portion of shield 85 may be extended toward or actually into contact with plate 66 if desired. The adjacent ends of two shields may be spliced together in the same manner as is shown in Fig. 6 and the shield 80 is detachably connected to brackets 73 by screws 8|.

Having thus described my invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a crane conveyor comprising parallel spaced runways having tracks at their lower ends, a crane comprising a bridge extending transversely of said runways, end trucks connected thereto and disposed beneath said runways and wheels to run on the rails of said runways, means to propel the crane along said runways comprising a shaft carried by the crane, wheels on the shaft having driving engagement with the under surface of the runways and a motor to rotate said shaft and wheels, the combination of means for energizing said motor comprising current conducting bus bars disposed in horizontal align-.

ment above the crane and along the runway adjacent to said motor, brackets attached to said runway and supporting said bus bars, a shoe carrier supported by the crane truck above said crane bridge, and current collecting shoes in said carrier engaging with the under side of said bus bars, and a shield supported by said brackets and housing said bus bars and collectors, said shield comprising a top wall extending over the top of the bus bars, a side wall extending vertically down from the top wall on the outer side of the bars and a bottom wall extending inwardly from the side wall and closely adjacent to the underside of said collector carriers to a position at least as close to the runway as the side of the nearest bar.

2. In a crane conveyor having parallel spaced runways, a crane extending transversely of said runways and supported for movement therealong, and means including a motor on the crane to propel the crane along said runways, the combination of current conducting bus bars disposed in horizontal alignment along one runway above the crane, brackets attached to said runway, supporting said bus bars and current collectors carried by the crane and engaging said bus bars, and means carried by said brackets and shielding the bus bars and collectors, said shielding means including horizontal top and bottom walls extending from places at least as close to the runway as the side of the nearest bus bar above and below the bars to a place beyond the outer and a vertical side wall joining the outer po ""ions of the top and bottom sides, said bottom wall lying adjacent to the underside of said collector carriers.

3. In a crane conveyor having parallel spaced runways, a crane extending transversely of said runway and supported for movement therealong, means to propel the crane along said runways, said means comprising a motor on the crane, a combination of current conducting bus bars arranged in a horizontal plane along one runway, brackets attached to said runway and supporting said bus bars, a shoe holder disposed horizontally below said bars on said crane, current collecting shoes in said holder engaging the lower sides of said bars and a shield supported by said brackets and including a top portion extending horizontally above said brackets and covering said bus bars, a vertical side portion on the outer side of said bars and holder, and a horizontal bottom portion extending from the vertical side portion toward the runway to a point at least as near to the runway as the adjacent side of the nearest bar, and adjacent to the underside of said shoe holder, said shield being open on the side adjacent to the said runway.

4. In an overhead conveyor system including a straight rail having lower edge flanges, and trolley wheels to run on said flanges, the combination of a plurality of horizontally aligned conductor bus bars parallel to said rail and spaced apart from one side thereof, means connected to said rail, extending over trolley wheels on the flange therebeneath and supporting said bus bars, current collectors movable with said trolley wheels and engageable with the lower surfaces of said bus bars, and means for shielding said bus bars, said means comprising a housing about said bars and having top, side and bottom walls and an open side opposed to said rail, the bottom wall extending horizontally beneath all the bus bars, adjacent to the underside of said current collectors and to at least the vertical projection of the bus bar side nearest to the runway.

RALPH T. MOORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 327,690 Jackson Oct. 6, 1885 884,595 Libby Apr. 14, 1908 1,466,893 Dunbar Sept. 4, 1923 2,040,610 I-Iuddleston May 12, 1936 2,137,694 McCain Nov. 22, 1938 2,210,171 Horn Aug. 6, 1940 2,245,135 Martin June 10, 1941 2,358,116 Wehr Sept. 12, 1944 

